Wake Up and Live
by ShiraChan-Desu
Summary: Over a month ago, they were standing in the very place they know as Las Noches. But a strange fate suddenly pulled them into a land that was just full of surprises. Gone were their masks. Gone were their hollow holes. It was only them...and their severely weakened powers growing ever so slowly. Not AU. Not yaoi. Rated T for swearing-mostly Grimm's fault. Pairings undecided...yeah.
1. Fading Bodies and Colorful Particles

**Yeah, this just suddenly popped up in my head while I was unsuccessfully typing my other Naruto story…it wasn't going very well. Mostly because this story kept on popping into my head and destroying my ideas that were previously screaming and running around from terror because new ideas were overcoming the old. … Yeaaaaah… so without further ado, here is the story that I have yet to name when I made this author's note~! *cough* Sorry I'm not very enthusiastic as I usually am. It's freakin' hot over here and I am very close to a crappy mood. I feel sad for my siblings.**

**Chapter 1:**

"Starrk! Ne, Starrk! Wake up already! Starrk!"

Aforementioned brown-haired male groaned at the voice interrupting his dreamless sleep. He shifted in his bed, not minding the extra weight pushing against his stomach. He lazily lifted one of his eyelids up, seeing his blonde-green haired half staring down at him with a frown, hands on her hips. He stared, then shut his eyelid; wanting to succumb back into his sleep.

Lilynette frowned harder. "Starrk!" she yelled out once again. When she didn't get a response, she huffed, repositioned her balance on the brunet's (AN: I was always confused about what they would call male with brown hair. First I thought it was brunette, but that sounded too girly…ish.) stomach, and jumped high in the air. "STARRK!" she yelled out, slamming the heels of her feet into the lazy man's stomach. Hard.

Starrk woke up immediately and sat up, unintentionally knocking Lilynette on her back, holding his stomach as he tried to regain his breath. Once he did, he immediately started rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, holding off a yawn. He then stared at his pink-eyed partner who was also staring at him with a smile. "You're awake!" she cheered.

He just stared and sighed, closing his eyes. "Give me another break, already," he yawned. He once again decided to try to go back to sleep, but tensed when he was abruptly grabbed at the front of his uniform and shaken rather roughly.

"No! You're not going back to sleep now! I'm hungry! Let's get something to eat!" Lilynette proclaimed in front of his face, noses inches apart.

Starrk stared blankly at her. He was about to lift his mouth open when warning bells rang in his head. On the outside, he remained in a mask of indifference; on the inside, he was actually alert and spreading his senses to roam the room for the cause of his weariness.

"…Starrk?"

Lilynette scrutinized the older's face. He had been silent throughout her whole rambling, and yet as she stared at his eyes, she realized they were staring right through her, unfocused. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but froze and widened her eyes as she saw his body starting to fade.

"STARRK!"

Starrk blinked when he heard the panic in his other's voice. He blinked and widened his eyes as he saw the little girl in front of him starting to fade right in front of his eyes. "…Lilynette?" he only had a chance to murmur before they both dispersed completely into blue particles and floated through the ceiling.

**~XoX~**

Ulquiorra walked through the halls of Las Noches, lost in thought but alert at the same time. The plan is about ready to be set in motion. All there was to do was wait patiently.

After several minutes of hearing his own footsteps padding against the floor, he stopped. Without turning around, he spoke into open air. "What do you think you are doing, Grimmjow?"

A long moment passed before a certain blue-haired Espada emerged from the shadows of one of the pillars nearby, wearing the same wicked grin. "Can't an Espada be able to wander around?" he inquired as he sauntered towards behind the Cuatro Espada. Receiving a blank look, he shoved his hands in his pockets and angled his head towards the side wall, keeping his eyes on the emotionless male. "And what is Aizen's loyal dog doing? I wouldn't have guessed you were the type to wander around, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra didn't say anything. He just stared at Grimmjow for a few more seconds before directing his gaze forward and continued walking.

Grimmjow scowled. "Oi, Ulquiorra!" he called out to the nonresponsive Arrancar. "Damn it, Ulquiorra! Don't walk away from me!" He received no response and he scowled more fiercely, and pursued. "Ulquior-!" He stopped when he saw his hand, which was a half a foot away from Ulquiorra's shoulder, start to fade. He dropped his scowl and widened his eyes. "What the hell?"

Ulquiorra also stopped and turned his head towards the person who was previously pursuing him. His eyes also widened, though only a fraction of an inch, as he saw the limb continuing to diminish. He opened his mouth to say something when Grimmjow stared at a spot on his shoulder. Looking in the same direction, his hidden astonishment further expanded as his body, too, started to fade.

The pair only had a second to make eye contact before disappearing among blue and green particles, already making its trip through the roof and beyond.

**~XoX~**

Mila-Rose inhaled sharply in shock. "H-Harribel-sama!"

Tier Harribel looked off into the distance, already pondering the situation. _First the Primero Espada, and then the Cuatro and Sexta Espada? _She thought, tilting her head downwards in thought. _What is going on here?_

"…Harribel-sama," Apache murmured.

Tier turned to look at her Fraccion. "You do not need to worry, Mila-Rose, Apache, Sung-Sun," she reassured them. "I am sure there is a good explanation for this. What it is, we don't know. But we'll find out in due time."

They exchanged glances and reluctantly nodded. "So…what should we do?" Sung-Sun said, still covering her mouth with her sleeve.

Tier stayed silent for a moment. "We will stay, but only until we await Aizen-sama's orders," she said. She walked forward on the balcony, uncrossed her arms, and put her hand on the railing. "Wandering around, not knowing what is out there is suicide." She turned away from the view and faced her Fraccion. "Head inside," she commanded.

They nodded. Mila Rose and Apache went inside, and soon an argument erupted after a minute or two. Tier was about to follow, but paused when Sung-Sun stopped and turned to face her superior. "Harribel-sama," she started. "Do think we could stand a chance against this… unknown?"

Tier started at Sung-Sun in thought, and then closed her eyes. "I do not know."

The wind blew through and ruffled their uniforms.

"…I see."

"Inside," Tier repeated.

Sung-Sun nodded. "Hai." She headed towards the door, but paused, once again, at the entrance. She turned to the blonde Espada. "…Harribel-sama, I…" she trailed off and a look of shock crossed over her face. "HARRIBEL-SAMA!" she cried out, staring horrifyingly as some parts of her superior started to dwindle. She vaguely heard the sound of footsteps running towards their location, but she paid them no heed. Judging from the look of confusion and startle set upon Harribel's covered face, she could only assume that she did not know about her dissipating appendages.

The last image Tier saw before disappearing completely in a shower of yellow particles was the rest of her loyal Fraccion coming outside and staring in horror at something she couldn't comprehend while Sung-Sun reached out to her in one final plead.

"HARRIBEL-SAMA!"

**Oh hey, that was cooler than I thought it would be! I actually enjoyed it! Oh please tell me you did, too! I mean, yeah, it was short, but interesting, no? XD I think I just got my cheerfulness back! Now I just need to do my homework…**

**Oh please review and tell me what you think! *cough* Well you don't have too, but I really need inspiration. This is my 4****th**** story, anyway! O.O Oh god, I have to get back to those! Jaa Ne~!**

**-ShiraChan-Desu (I almost spelled it wrong again! What is wrong with me!?)**


	2. A Not So Fabulous Entrance, maybe

**Thanks to your reviews, I became extremely excited, and now I can't wait to put this chapter up! I'm so happy~! I think this is going to be my best crossover fanfic yet! … Maybe… But I just can't wait until we go to the further chapters! (If I don't die first from school, but I shouldn't think like that, should I? O.O) Anyway, let's get a move on!**

**I admire Tier Harribel and Lilynette Gingerbuck. I think that Coyote Starrk and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez are pretty awesome and cool. BUT I LOVE ULQUIORRA CIFER~! XD I don't know why I put this note on here, but I think I just couldn't help it. Oh yeah, and I also forgot to put the disclaimer on the other chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the freakin' awesome Bleach and I don't own the freakin' awesome Naruto. Hell yeah! XD (Gosh in real life I don't even use many of these 'expressive' words.)**

**Chapter 2**

A white matrix.

A mixture of blue, yellow, and green sparkling in the distance.

Sparkles of the same color collide.

Five distinct figures, colors of brown, yellow-green, blonde, blue, and black.

A sharp crack resounds in the otherwise empty space.

Shards, barely visible in the fluorescent light, break apart from their previous formation on the individuals' top halves, swirl in the same individuals, and fill in the empty gap symbolizing their existence.

Their hole.

Their _hollow _hole.

Their proof of the dead.

And then the sky was torn open.

Some of the most deadly creatures ever to walk on Earth approaches.

**~XoX~**

The Hidden Village of the Leaf continued on.

Innocent civilians bustled across and down the streets. Laughing, yelling, screaming, wailing, screeching- all were audible in through the blue skies.

The 3rd Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, breathed out the smoke from his pipe, reminiscing. Ten years since the unforeseen attack of the Nine-tailed fox. Ten years since the 4th Hokage and his wife died. Ten years since the birth of their beautiful baby boy. And ten years since the start of the conversations of 'the demon child'. He sighed deeply. Perhaps he should-.

His musings were cut short when a blinding white light erupted high above the village. Wincing from the sheer intensity, he lifted his arm in an attempt to block out most of the light (his pipe on the ground and forgotten).

Various screams and pointing erupted from his village as the light dimmed and separated into four large orbs, orbiting around each other. Then, without warning, the orbs shot downwards.

Alarmed, he was about to attempt to counter the surprise 'attack', but found he didn't need to. Just over a hundred feet over the buildings, the spheres swerved and went their separate ways- each orb going to one corner of the village (if it was shaped like a square). He watched, astonished, as the spheres of glowing light shrank as it went farther and farther in the distance. Then, they collided on the surface.

Time seemed frozen for a moment.

And all hell broke loose.

Well, more like all hell broke loose _outside_ the village.

The collision turned out to be extremely devastating, and even though the distance was great, the raw power of the crash was too close for comfort- even so when a long and large tremor raked through the whole village. The great half-globes of light that resulted from the boom were clearly visible in the distance and lasted for a few more minutes. The lights winked out of existence.

Silence.

And immediately, the people erupted out of panic.

Without a minute to lose, he ordered the ANBU to investigate the four sites where the fallen objects landed.

**~XoX~**

To say he was surprised was an understatement.

Who wouldn't be out of their minds when the assumed causes of the explosions were people? Literally. They could only come to the conclusion that the cause was those five individuals due to the fact that they were lying in each of their own humungous craters- with the exception of the young girl and the man. Why a little girl with too revealing clothes was holding a completely older man to death, they would not know. The safest reasons they could guess was possibly that 1) he's her father, or 2) they are friends, or 3) they are relatives. There was no resemblance, but they believed it was the first.

The first people he saw were said 'father and daughter'. He found it only a slightly bit peculiar for a child to have such light lime-colored hair. And of course, her clothing. …Frankly, it was quite disturbing. He probably would have been excited if she were older (AN: You guys do know that the Third Hokage is a perv, right? O.O). But in the end, they decided to cover the child's body from peering eyes.

The adult was, in short, normal. Nothing, besides his katana and his strange clothes, had any sign of him being a paranormal being. He was about as normal as can be. Wavy, dark-brown hair and a faded goatee were not strange at all.

The next could've had any lesser man drooling. …Thankfully he managed to hold his in. Delicately dark, but not too dark, skin, thin blonde eyelashes, messy short blonde hair with three braids, a very generous buxom, and her whole, delicate yet toned waist laid bare- she was practically an angel. They had wondered why her coat was zipped all the way to cover her mouth. They (namely the males) attempted to find out, but were kicked out of the room by the female Shinobi present, stating that it was inappropriate and that only they could do so.

After a few long moments of waiting, the females finally let them inside. One of them spoke that she was wearing nothing underneath her jacket, so they had her covered up. As for her weapon of choice…actually, they decided to confiscate any weapons the strangers provided.

The fourth (AN: that makes sense) individual was an exotic, fairly tall, slender male with extremely pale skin with short, slightly messy, midnight hair who couldn't possibly be younger than 16. He also had teal lines that might as well be the path of tears. His clothing was similar to that of the first male, but was less showable, but enough was seen that he was fairly muscular- not beefy, nor was he scrawny. Enough said.

The fifth, and last, was a muscular, spiky blue-haired male who wore only an open jacket as a top. But what mostly caught their attention was the large scar running across his torso, along with the scars on his arms. From the looks of it, it looked like it was only made recently. Not too recently; less than a week or so. Out of the five, he looked the most dangerous. Even if he looked barely older than 17 or 18.

The Third Hokage ordered that they be placed temporarily in the hospital until they awaken. In the meantime, they would be guarded and watched.

…

It took about a month for the first to stir.

**Yeah, I'm going to stop here. Darn the 'Internet Curfew'. *Sigh* But I guess it can't be helped. Thank you for reading! Comments, suggestions and random sentences are entirely welcome! XD I hope you enjoyed it! *Groans* God, I wish I could get more sleep. STUPID SCHOOL!**

**PS: Sorry for the short chapter. I promise you, I'll try to make it shorter once I have more freedom. **

_**Also, I would appreciate it if you guys help me decide if I should just have only Shinigami in my other Naruto/Bleach crossover story, or have Shinigami along with the Espada in the story.**_

**Until next time~!**

**-ShiraChan-Desu (Yay! I didn't almost mess up this time!)**


	3. I need to make a longer chapter

**WARNING: CRUDE(-ish?) LANGUAGE. … Obviously Grimmjow's fault. I decided to not finish the f' word...just because I wanted to. Not really a fan for swearing, thank you very much.**

**I like sponge cake.**

**It's very good, though the type my mom gives us gets stuck in her throat, so she has to drink it down. Honestly, I don't know how that's possible. **

**I love pancakes with syrup!**

**First, stir the batter, then pour, flip, flip, and serve. Add butter, syrip and round sausages, and THAT is my lovely breakfast!**

**So anyway, I am seriously hoping that this chapter will end up being longer than the other chapters. *Eyes sparkles* I am so happy to have you all as my readers! Your reviews just cheer me up right away! On behalf of my pride as a fellow lazy fanfiction, I am going to try my best to make this a much longer chapter than any of my other chapters (though there's only two).**

…

**On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own the sponge cake I am currently digesting right now, but I don't own Bleach or Naruto.**

**Chapter 3:**

A yell resounded over the whole of Konoha.

"SHIT! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"

"Restrain him!"

"LET GO OF ME, YOU FUCKIN' BASTARDS!"

"Sir, please hold still!"

"Hokage-sama!" a random Shinobi kneeled down as the leader of the village entered the hallway where a certain room was located.

In the room, there was the sound of glass shattering and cursing from the outside of the building.

"Are you mad?! You can't just throw things around like that!"

"SHUT UP! WHERE THE FUCKIN' HELL AM I?!"

The only occupants in the hall froze and listened as harsh stomps directed itself towards the exit door from the inside of the room.

"You can't go out there! The Hokage-sama gave us direct orders to keep you here until he arrives!"

"TO HELL WITH THAT COWARD!"

Hiruzen decided to step in at that moment. He was not at all offended by the choice of words, as he expected this type of behavior from the ruthless-looking individual. Seeing the catastrophe around the room and the occupants, he chuckled despite the situation.

Beds were overturned, the glass window shattered, curtains ripped, bandages littered the floor, and he was pretty sure he just saw one shoe of the standard Shinobi footwear lodged in the wall.

Huh.

The three occupants turned their heads and stared. Or at least one of them tried to but couldn't because of a certain blue-haired male currently blocking his windpipe with one hand. Another Shinobi was hanging from the stranger's hip where he was kept in place by the other's arm wound around him after his attempt to tackle Grimmjow.

Said Sexta Espada lifted his eyes up towards the old man wearing the read and white robes, along with the same-colored hat with the kanji, Fire. "What do _you_ want?" he spat. He let go of the damn bastards who tried to lay their hands on him.

"Now's not the time to discuss, but for now, let's check on your comrades, shall we?" Hiruzen stated before walking out the door. He knew the stranger was impatient and annoyed, so he decided to just get to the point.

Grimmjow stared from the Shinobi on the ground to the door and back again. "Che," he muttered. He put his hands on his pockets and started following the Hokage, his curiosity getting the better of him.

**~XoX~**

Pale eyelids opened to show incredibly dull and lifeless emerald eyes.

The first thing that Ulquiorra registered was the soft, cushion-like feeling pressing against his back. He lay there, wondering where he was, until he sat up with a jolt.

He froze, and slowly lifted his hand towards the left side of his head, not believing the reason why it felt so…bare. But he was right. Instead of the hard shell of his broken mask, he felt the tuft of his black hair. His mask, not even a fragment, was gone.

His eyes widened. Then he remembered something else. Quickly unzipping the collar of his uniform, he looked down- and saw smooth, pallid skin. He ran his fingers over the area where his hollow hole was previously placed and realized it was not an illusion.

But…

He narrowed his eyes and moved his fingers again.

There.

If he felt very carefully, he could feel that the hollow hole area was more firmer and harder than the skin surrounding it- as hard as his mask.

"Ah! He's awake!"

The voice snapped him out of his musing and made him look up to where three humans stood. Surprise flitted across his otherwise emotionless face when he realized he hadn't sensed the intruders.

On second thought, he could barely sense even his own reiatsu. With a start, he realized he was as weak as Kurosaki Ichigo's human comrades.

His frown deepened. _What is going on here?_

"Are you sure he's alright? He looks kind of pale."

"He's always been pale."

"…Touché…"

"Will you two shut up?"

"…Hai," the two said in unison, none too happy to oblige.

"Now…" the third person turned back to the indifferent Espada. He crossed his arms and stared suspiciously. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Typical questions. They're always the same," one muttered behind him.

"I said, Shut. Up!" he scowled fiercely at the pair.

Ulquiorra scrutinized the people before him. Trash, he concluded. Silently, he moved towards the edge of the bed and stood up. He refused to waver as his previously tense and dormant muscles tried to adjust to the movement. By the time the trio realized he had left the bad, he was already a few feet away from the door.

"Hey, kid! You can't leave without the Hokage's permission!" the third called out. Receiving no response, he abruptly ran up to the Cuatro Espada and clasped his hand firmly on the fairly muscular arm. "Listen to me, you stupid gaki!"

He was promptly kicked through the walls.

**~XoX~**

Harribel (AN: I feel more comfortable calling her by her last name) wandered aimlessly through the halls, looking for the exit to this strange place. Her collar was open, having no reason to cover her lower face if she didn't have her mask on her anymore. She was secretly pleased that someone had covered her torso with a white shirt lest she would still have only a jacket to cover her bare skin. A bright light appeared at the end of the hall and she narrowed her eyes.

If one were to enter the room she previously occupied, they would have first seen the large pile of unconscious bodies at the center.

**~XoX~**

Loud screams erupted, once again, out of a certain hospital.

Both Lilynette and Starrk were running down a hall with Konoha shinobi right at their feet.

…

Or more like Starrk was running down the hall with Lilynette at his feet and the shinobi in the background. In other words, Starrk ran for his dear life as a yellow-green haired child chased after him.

They didn't pay attention to their surroundings until they practically flew through the door.

**~XoX~**

Grimmjow stopped and smirked as he heard the sound of a ruckus outside. "That was easy," he muttered, before running in the direction of the yells.

Which was towards a wall.

The Hokage also stopped to look back when the "young adult" headed in a different direction. He started to ask, but was cut off when the blue-haired individual _punched _a hole in the wall big enough for him to go through. He almost gawked, but his attention was diverted when he looked past Grimmjow and saw a flurry of bodies.

Grimmjow grinned at the sight of the commotion, ignoring the slightly throbbing pain on his knuckle. Mr. Primero was easily fending off a bunch of shinobi, looking bored. Lilynette was…well…irritating another group of shinobi by punching, kicking, or stepping on them while dodging their attempts to subdue her. The bystanders stood outside of the area, backing off each time one fighter came too close. Which was about a yard.

He then spotted the two people standing not too far or close to the fight and scowled. Harribel had her arms across her large bosom while the bastard Ulquiorra had his hands in his pockets and his signature emotionless face. There were no signs of their masks or hollow holes.

Not that he cared…It just…looks…different.

He mentally shook his head. He'll save the stupid thoughts of their more _human-like_ (he thought it with disgust) appearances later.

Just when he was about join in the fun, the old man just had to ruin it.

Sarutobi cleared his throat, and they stopped. Everyone, with the exception of the Arrancar, bowed down. "Hokage-sama!" they greeted in unison. The shinobi bowed their head lowly, ashamed of their failure at subduing the strangers. "Forgive us! We have failed your orders!" one of the Chunin said.

The Hokage smiled and smoked on his pipe. "No harm done. No harm done," he waved it off good-naturedly.

**~XoX~**

He didn't know how it happened, but miraculously, they were able to escort the young ones (in his view) to his office with the help of the only two authoritative people of the foreign group- who were ironically the youngest looking male and the oldest female.

Even as they entered the room, the blue-head continued to argue with the youngest male who was calmly replying back. The oldest male yawned behind his gloved hand and the little girl kicked his behind. The other female just stood stoically. Finally, after one final note of incredulity, the blue-haired male scowled harder and muttered a "fine" before falling silent.

Sarutobi breathed out another wisp of smoke before speaking, "I'm sure you all know why you have been brought here."

Lilynette gave off a look that basically yelled "Duh!"

"So you must already know the questions I am going to ask of you."

They were silent, until the oldest female spoke up, her voice fairly low but strong, "We do not know where we are or why we are here. From what I've gathered from my companions, we were all at our home before we got knocked out. When we woke up, our fate has already been placed." She stared straight into the eyes of the Hokage, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. "As for our names, my name is Tier Harribel. Please call me Harribel."

"My name is Lilynette Gingerbuck!" the girl said with a smirk. She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the male behind her. "And this man here is Coyote Starrk...I call him Starrk."

"Ulquiorra Cifer," he said monotonously, hands still in his pockets.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," the blue-head grumbled.

"Excellent!" the Hokage said, smiling. "May I ask where you came from?"

"A far-off region hidden from prying eyes. I'm afraid we can't tell you the name, as we will be punished severely for doing so," Harribel stepped back in.

The Hokage blinked. _Punished…_ "…I see." He fell silent for a few moments. "You caused quite a show when you appeared." He was surprised when he saw confusion flit across their faces. "Surely you know?"

Lilynette shook her head. "We don't. We only remember waking up in a room," she admitted. She hesitated before asking, "what exactly _did _happen?"

Sarutobi soon found himself telling the group about the rather short, yet disastrous event that occurred and the after-effects.

_That is why our reiatsu has mostly diminished, _Ulquiorra thought, grimly. _Whatever caused our transformation also caused our power to weaken from entering a different realm._

Harribel's thoughts flashed back to when she tried to summon a Garganta after knocking out the shinobi. To her surprise, only a slight distortion in the air appeared before disappearing. She should be able to still summon a Garganta, even with the low reiatsu she has. She narrowed her eyes. _The only way is to wait until our reiatsu is replenished. Then, we should hopefully be able to get back to Aizen-sama. _The only flaw is, how long?

Surprisingly, Starrk decided to speak up. "Hokage-san, we offer no explanation. Only because we also do not know the reason," he said.

Sarutobi scrutinized the man before him, and realized that he was speaking sincerely. "Hmmm, I believe that is it, then. I shouldn't hold you any longer than necessary. I trust that you will be leaving now?"

Lilynette was about to nod, but Harribel interrupted. "I'm afraid we cannot."

Grimmjow finally burst out. "WHAT?!" he yelled, receiving a withering glare from Ulquiorra. He ignored him.

Harribel turned her gaze to the person who made the outburst. "There is no reason to doubt me, Grimmjow. I am merely stating a fact," she said and turned back to the surprised Hokage. "The trail we must take is currently sealed off." In saying this, her companions figured out her true meaning. "We do not know when it will be uncovered. It may take months, years, or in short, time." She looked deeper into the Hokage's eyes. From his expression, he knew what was going to be asked of him.

"I ask, for the sake of me and my comrades, that we take refuge in your village."

**SIX PAGES!**

**SIX, STINKING PAGES!**

**Not that big of a deal, probably, to you guys, though. But to me, it's an achievement. I just need more time and I need to aim higher. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOU WONDERFUL REVIEWS! But I have a few things to say.**

**This is not yaoi, so don't worry! For people who like reading yaoi, I apologize, but I'm not a type of person who does all those lovey stuff in stories. **

**And for people who like pairings, there is probably not gonna be pairings in this story. Maybe, but I kind of doubt it. In my opinion, pairings kind of take away the main focus of the story. … Or was it only for my other stories? But anyway, yeah, I'm not really a lovey dovey type of person. So if **_**I **_**were the one who was going to be the person to type love stories, I'm not sure I would be able to live with the hate thrown at me. XD Well, not literally, but you get what I mean.**

**Yes, the Espada are now weak, but they will grow stronger each passing day. Just… really, really, **_**really slowly.**_

**They will meet Naruto soon, probably in the next chapter or the one after that. There will be a time-skip, though, since this is around two years before Naruto graduates from the Academy. He is ten years old right now, but he's around twelve when he graduates. If I'm wrong, I'm still going to say that he's twelve. **

**Now, enough dilly-dallying! I have to…um…well I have nothing to do right now, and I know I need to take a shower soon. But maybe I'm going to work on the next chapter. *Groans* It's so hard, yet so fun! Jaa Ne~!**

**-ShiraChan-Desu (Oh, that makes this chapter 7 pages then! But I guess the Author's note doesn't count, does it? Ugh, I guess that means that this chapter is actually five pages.)**


	4. First meeting and first mission

**Disclaimer: I think I forgot to do this on my other chapters…? But anyway, it's here now! I don't own Bleach and I don't own Naruto! They would really suck if I did, dattebayo! XD Sorry Naruto, had to copy ya.**

**I am officially not satisfied with my chapters. They are seriously too short! I need to work harder and stop adding the cliff-hangers! XD To tell you the truth, I haven't even realized I was putting in cliffhangers until I was creating this chapter. **

_**Later on….**_

**Wagh! I am SO SORRY I haven't updated for a long time! You see…um…I sort of…got addicted to reading other stories concerning my new favorite character, Minato Namikaze. He's just so CUTE when he's little! … Same as when he's older. Well…more like hot. But still. GOD I FEEL LIKE A STUPID FAN-GIRL! … I didn't say fan-girls are stupid if you're thinking that…**

…

**Moving on…**

**Well, tests are finally over, but the school year is not ending yet! About a whole month to go! And now everything is starting to get harder because they really want to get stuff done in school. Soooo, there ya go! That's practically what's been going on in my life in a less detailed summary. I have to say though…I really need to do my homework before reading fanfiction… I always end up doing my homework so late at night…God, help me. **

**I started this chapter over again. Didn't seem right. I hope it's ok. I tried with all my might.**

**Don't know why I did poetry… I suck at it. Gah, it's so corny, I tell ya.**

**Chapter 4:**

"Hold on, hold on, hold the fuck on," Grimmjow sighed. "You're saying, that _we _have to be fucking temporary 'shinobi' who _protect_," he said the word with disgust, "those stupid humans who can't even take care of themselves until we get back?"

Harribel only nodded.

"Shit. _Shit_. This is just fucking fantastic!" he exclaimed. "Las Noches, I could stand; but having to stay with these bastards?!" At the word 'bastards', it wasn't missed that he looked in Ulquiorra's way-who was in deep thought but still sensed the glance in his direction.

He ignored it. As usual.

Ulquiorra turned towards Harribel. "Tercera." (AN:Third). "I believe it is time to retrieve our Zanpakuto."

Harribel directed her gaze to the pale, but less pale than previously, Espada. Nodding her head in agreement, she took out a rather strangely-wrapped object from where she tied it around her back. She unwrapped it, revealing, in all their glory, Pantera, Murcielago, Tiburon, and Los Lobos.

Harribel threw the three Zanpakuto at once with precise accuracy towards their respective owners who each caught their lengthened soul with one hand and reattached her Zanpakuto and its sheath on her back.

Grimmjow fingered the tip of the blade, grinning wickedly.

Sensing the slight blood-lust, Harribel, once again, directed her attention towards Grimmjow. "We are not to harm any of the innocent," she said, to which he scowled.

Loophole. "Not everyone is 'innocent', are they?"

Harribel didn't give an answer, but she didn't need to. Instead, she threw each of them a metal plate, bearing Konoha's insignia, on a cloth with the exception of Lilynette.

"Oi, why can't I get one?!"

"You are young in their standards. The Hokage has offered a choice: if you choose to become like us, join the Academy," Harribel replied.

Lilynette blanched, imagining herself being surrounded by snot-nosed children running all over the place. Laughing. Screaming. Mocking. Crying. … No. No way. No freakin' way.

The others saw the horror paint across her visage as she paled. No one said a word.

"The Hokage saw fit for us to be put into the same team," Harribel continued. "He has pronounced me as a Chunin, also the captain of our squad." Here, she looked at the reactions of the other Espada. Ulquiorra merely closed his eyes, Grimmjow looked extremely annoyed, and Starrk just blinked. "The Hokage has yet to see your abilities, so it's rational that you three were made Genin."

"Damn you, Hokage," Grimmjow muttered.

"Our first task is a D-Rank mission. From there, the Hokage will be able to analyze your skills and choose the missions best suited for our abilities."

While she was saying this, the Espada proceeded to secure their hitai-ate. Grimmjow took one look at it in disgust, but still wound it around his left arm. Ulquiorra fastened it around his waist, and Starrk replaced the area where his mask fragment once was with his own. Harribel also had tied hers loosely around her neck while Lilynette looked on.

"The mission starts at five. Don't be late."

**~XoX~**

Lilynette grumbled angrily as she stalked down the street.

The sun was setting, the villagers were talking, and she was alone. Starrk, Harribel, Ulquiorra, and Grimmjow had already set off to speak with the Hokage less than half an hour ago. Starrk said they would get it done quickly. She didn't doubt it, but she still couldn't get rid of the undying boredom while waiting. Long before she took to the streets, she had noticed the small change in her clothing: her white briefs were switched with shorts of the same color, along with a long tank top under her mini-jacket. Other than that, everything was fine. Her helmet was gone, so she could finally see from her left eye, but it would take some getting used to without the extra weight. Everything was juuust peachy.

She kicked a stray pebble.

So bored.

Until a certain blonde-haired kid smacked right into her.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, kid!" she yelled at the kid on the ground after she regained her balance, shaking her fist.

"What? Hold on, you're a kid too, dattebayo!" A ten year-old Naruto countered, standing up and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"I am _much _older than I look, you little squirt," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

He cocked his head. "Eh? So does that mean…you're an old lady?" He paused and then burst out laughing. "Y-you must be r-really ugly if you want to use a little girl as a cover up!"

"You idiot…" A tick mark appeared. She punched the kid on the head. Hard.

"ITTE!" Naruto cried out, cradling his head as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. "What was that for, obaa-chan?!"

She held out one finger. "One, that was for being an idiot," she bluntly said. She added another finger. "And two, I. Am. A. Teen. Got that?" Might as well go with the made-up story. "Not a kid; a _teen_."

Naruto pouted. "Fine, fine fine," he said, looking at anything but the person in front of him.

Lilynette sighed, but put on a small smirk and leaned on one leg. "What's your name, kid?"

Naruto looked back at her in mild confusion but full of surprise. "You…you don't know who I am?" he incredulously asked.

Lilynette lost her smirk and adopted a similar look of confusion. "Am I supposed to?"

Naruto was at a loss of words. For as long as he could remember, he was known throughout the village as a demon, being despised by everyone, and yet, a single person in front of him doesn't know who he is? He looked down in sorrow. "…Everyone…believes that I am a monster," he mumbled. He looked up in time to see a brief amount of surprise flash across her face. "Are you going to run away now? Everyone's doing it. And you'll get scolded if you continue to talk to me."

Lilynette stayed silent for a while. _A monster, huh_? she thought, closing her eyes and sighing. 'If anything, we're the monsters here. Not him.' She opened her eyes, leaned forward, and flicked the boy's nose.

Naruto had actually been expecting her to run away. Even go as far to shove him. But what he didn't expect was the small thump on his proboscis. His eyes widened.

"Jeez, you really think that _I _would run away?" she said, letting a smile float to her face. "Believe it or not, gaki, I know what a monster looks like, and it's definitely not the little kid standing in front of me."

Naruto's heart clenched. Not out of anger. Or sadness.

But out of happiness.

Once again, tears pricked his eyelids, but actually threatened to overspill. It seemed like the girl noticed, too, because she frowned.

"Oi, why're you crying?" she asked nervously. She didn't really have any experience dealing with little kids. She was one of the only kid-looking Arrancar in Las Noches, anyway. "Did I do something wrong?"

Naruto repeatedly tried to rub his eyes to stop the tears with his arm. His actions were in vain, seeing as the tears were spilling across his cheeks. He shook his head. "N-no. It's just…" he choked out, sniffing. Naruto put down his arm. He lifted his head, letting out a genuine grin. "I'm just really, really happy, dattebayo!"

Despite herself, Lilynette's eyes softened. _I guess…I could have someone to talk to while they're out_, she thought. "Now, no more crying! You don't want to look like a crybaby in front of a girl, now would ya?" She smirked.

Naruto gave a small laugh. "No, I guess not," he answered. He pointedly looked at her. "So what's your name?"

Lilynette shook her head in mock exasperation. "Isn't it rude to not introduce yourself before asking?" she reminded him.

"Eh?! But you asked first, dattebayo!"

"That was before! This is now!"

"You first!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"_You_!"

**~XoX~**

The Hokage looked up when someone unceremoniously banged open the door. The person promptly stomped over to him and banged his hands on the desk.

"What kind of shitty assignment was that?!" Grimmjow seethed.

"Calm yourself, Grimmjow," Harribel warned. She was ignored.

"If we're actually going to do these shit-ass assignments, then at least put more of a challenge into it!"

With interest, Sarutobi noticed that none of the members of the new squad were harmed in any way. Not even a scratch. The cat they were assigned to chase down was, as far as he knew, the fiercest out of all others that ran away from their owners. And not only were they not harmed, but they had finished the mission in a new record of less than 5 minutes. Quite a feat.

"Shut your mouth! Don't speak that way in front of the Hokage, Genin!" a random Shinobi also managing the mission paperwork yelled.

"You bastard, are you asking for a fight?!"

"Do you even know who you're talking to?!"

"Are you deaf?! I already said it! 'Bastard'!"

"Why you little…!"

Harribel silently walked up to Grimmjow and karate-chopped a vital point on his neck, knocking him out.

Starrk caught the limp figure before he fell on the wooden floor, sighing. "What a pain," he muttered.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow in amusement. _Spoken like a Nara_, he thought. He watched as they retreated towards the back of the room, where Ulquiorra stood like a statue. Sarutobi smoked through his pipe. "…I believe the young one may have a point," he said.

The shinobi who spoke earlier whirled around to face the Hokage, bewildered. "H-Hokage-sama!"

"It's fine, it's fine," the Hokage said, waving it off. "We'll give them a C-Rank mission- then we'll see how it goes."

Harribel bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

**~XoX~**

_**2 years later…**_

Lilynette stared blankly at the material of the roof, knees tucked in, arms around legs, chin on knee.

_Two years_, she thought. _Two years, and we still can't get back_. Every week, they honed their skills- trying to gain back the power they had lost. It was going at an extremely slow pace. According to Ulquiorra, they had only gained about 13% of their original power since they arrived in this land they had grudgingly called their new home.

It was really strange. She didn't know how, but she almost felt like there was something not _allowing _them to go back to Hueco Mundo. As if someone was blocking their ability to open a Garganta.

They have been having a lot of free-time lately, so they decided to use that time to train. Of course, she had to join in, too, since she still refuses to join the Academy. She just…didn't feel like she belonged there. Then her thoughts strayed to a certain knuckle-headed idiot.

Naruto.

She hasn't seen him for months.

What with all the training and all, she didn't have the time. But, she couldn't help but feel the pang of loneliness and guilt every time she thought of that little gaki. She had Starrk, so the solitude wasn't all that powerful.

But now that she thinks about it…

She couldn't help but miss the Blondie. To be honest, he was like a little brother she never had.

Lilynette sighed.

_What should she do?_

**To be Continued…**

**THERE IS NO NARUTO AND LILYNETTE PAIRING! Though I guess you probably already knew that because of the 'little brother' comment. I just wanted to point it out.**

**Also, I chose Harribel to be the leader, because 1) she was able to leave a whole pile of chunin unconscious in her previous room, 2) she has shown the characteristics of a leader, and 3) Starrk doesn't like taking control of things. He let Baraggan lead the attack against the Shinigami, remember?**

**I totally need to add more Ulquiorra and Starrk in the future chapters. **

**I wanted to make this chapter longer, but I really needed to update. **

**Well, I don't really have anything else to say…so…Jaa Ne~!**

**-ShiraChan-Desu**


	5. A Broken Reunion

**Disclaimer: I am not too creative right now to write anything besides "I don't own Naruto and Bleach" as a disclaimer. **

**Ok, first things first: I have to thank SeaShellSakura for pointing out an important fact: "How does the time-skip or story fit into the Bleach timeline?" … Or something close to that. I'm just paraphrasing. I'm going to say that time goes by extremely slow in the realm they are in compared to Hueco Mundo. I guess you could say that Naruto's home is in a different dimension than Ichigo's, also. I'll explain exactly **_**how **_**slow the Naruto timeline is compared to Bleach's timeline in much, **_**much,**_** later chapters. Most likely near the end. Or **_**the**_** end. If I get by to finishing this story. …I hope I don't lose my inspiration until then. Also, I'm sorry if people got thrown off by the time-skip. I'm weird like that. I just want to hurry up and get to the Chunin Exams so that we would kind of get a taste of their 'new' selves. Not entirely new, but… well yeah. **

**Second: Thank you for all your fantastic reviews! :D It's really spurring me on, and I think I'm starting to feel the adrenaline! It's a good thing, but it's also a bad thing because I'm more prone to making more mistakes. So bear with me please! **

**Third: I like my mom's spaghetti. No. I LOVE my mom's spaghetti. YUM! She didn't cook any today, though. **** Anyway, onward!**

**Chapter 5**

Lilynette ran down the street, the gravel crunching as a grin stretched out across her face. She could hardly contain her excitement!

Seems to be that she finally had some time to herself! The others had finally gotten a mission that required all four of the Espada to be absent for a while. Finally, out of months of waiting, she was free.

Now, she could see that little gaki again!

She sped up as her destination came closer and closer. She could just feel Naruto's reiatsu up ahead. _Naruto. What are you doing right now? _She thought as a puff of smoke erupted from the distance. Huh. Now that that happened, she just noticed the four other reiatsu surrounding him. _Pretty weak except for the fourth._

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at Konohamaru's comment. "Y-you guys are pretty sharp, huh?" he asked, oblivious to the mentally gloomy and raging subject.

"NO!" He didn't have time to even react to the infuriated yell along with the rage-filled power-punch. Next thing he knew, he was tumbling across the ground, his cheek bruised and he was sure blood came out. He half-expected to collide against the fence, or stop tumbling.

But it was neither.

Instead, he felt a small pair of arms grasp his shoulders to stop his momentum. Then came the painfully familiar voice, "And _what_ do you think you're _doing_!?"

Sakura's anger diminished when she saw the lime-haired girl clad in white catch the knuckle-headed idiot. She would've even openly gaped at seeing another kid besides the usual (Konohamaru Corps) help Naruto. Even less so that that person was someone she hasn't ever seen before. "Who…who are you?" she asked, getting out of her brief astonishment.

Obviously ignoring her, the girl turned her attention towards the staring blonde. The girl gave a small, but genuine smile.

Then she punched him on the head.

"What the heck is wrong with you?! Getting beaten up by a little girl? If I were anyone else, I would say, 'that. Is. Pathetic'," she practically scolded the abused boy.

"What did you want me to do?! Fight back?!" Naruto retorted, already out of his previous shock. "Weren't you the one who said, 'don't fight girls unless it is really necessary'? This isn't one of those times, dattebayo!"

"Ah-hah! You're still saying that word!" Lilynette pointed at him in triumph.

"So what?!"

"So, everything!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Nothing makes sense in your mind, tiger toes!"

"…tiger toes? That's new."

"You learn something new every day."

"Got that right."

"Um…hello?" Sakura interrupted, trying to get the new arrival's attention. After a few more tries, she finally succeeded, seeing the lime-haired girl turning and arching an eyebrow at her direction. "Uh…hi. So…who are you?"

Lilynette frowned and glared accusingly at a guilty Naruto. "You didn't talk about me to any of your friends." It wasn't a question.

"Ah…you see…"

"I'm disappointed in you, gaki."

"Hmph. It's not my fault. I wanted to introduce you directly, but noooo, you just had to disappear for months-"

"I'm sorry."

"-before I even had a-wait what?" Now, it was his turn to see someone show their guilt.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Lilynette muttered. Pinkish eyes met cerulean blue. "And I won't say it again."

Naruto was confused. "Wait…sorry about what?" As a matter of fact, he really concerned for the female. She never apologized unless she thought that it was really necessary.

Lilynette sighed in distress. "…for not being there for you. You deserve more from an older sister."

Her little 'brother' frowned. "What are you blabbering about? It's fine! I had Iruka-sensei, the Old-man, Shikamaru, Kiba, and even Choji for company! You don't have to apologize!" He grinned. "Plus, even though I don't really like that guy, I still have Sasuke, along with Kakashi-sensei, and even you Sakura-chan." He looked at the bewildered female.

Don't get her wrong. Sakura wasn't confused about Naruto's company. Rather, she was confused to the earlier statement Lilynette had said before. "O-older sister?" Sakura breathed out in shock. "_You _have an older sister?!"

Naruto was about to answer, but Lilynette beat him to it. She let out a small laugh, her mood swing going back to cheerful. "That's not it, that's not it," she said, waving her hands with a smirk. "You see, we met around two years ago, and since then, I've been treating him like a little brother. Naruto and I don't have any brothers or sisters, you see, so we just hit it off! No blood relations or anything." Then she remembered the pink-head's earlier question. "Oh, by the way, I'm Lilynette Gingerbuck."

Naruto butted in. "Oi, Lilynette…I've been wondering. It's been two years right?" he asked.

Lilynette nodded, wondering where his train of thought was going.

"So…shouldn't you look older now?"

She tensed inwardly, while she remained composed on the outside. She didn't notice Sakura narrow her eyes.

"I mean, you look the same. Exactly the same as two years ago! Now that I think about it, I'm almost as tall as you now!

Lilynette gave out a fake laugh, which was lost on only Naruto. "You're imagining things, knuckle-head," she denied. "I've grown! It's just that it's very, _very _small…I grow really slow. I don't know why, but I just do."

Naruto stared with an 'o' formed on his mouth. He didn't really believe it, but he figured he wasn't going to get anything else out of the older. When she has a secret she doesn't want to tell, she won't tell.

"Hey," Sakura said, getting Lilynette's attention. "Are you a kunoichi?"

Lilynette frowned and shook her head. "No, and I don't want to. I've been too busy lately to think of that."

"What do you mean by busy?" Naruto asked.

Lilynette hurriedly tried to find an excuse. "I've been helping around the house."

"So you've been gone for about half a year just so you could do chores?"

"No, no! It isn't like that. It's just…just…" Lilynette trailed off and sighed. "It's personal."

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were standing at the side, practically forgotten. Konohamaru puffed out his cheeks in annoyance at being ignored. "HEY, BOSS!" he yelled as loud as he could.

Naruto, Sakura, and Lilynette turned their heads to look at the other trio, in synch. Lilynette muttering, "How long have they been there?"

Naruto walked over to them and crouched down to their level. "What is it _this_ time, Konohamaru?"

"Ne, ne, you still haven't answered my question!" he pointed out. "Are you and that ugly, wide-forehead girl a thing?"

Lilynette wisely stepped back once she felt the killing intent rise in the kunoichi.

"Uh…you see…" Naruto was about to answer, but then he finally realized the real danger they were in when he heard the very person they were talking about crack her knuckles. The quartet creaked their heads to look fearfully at the raging Sakura.

All was silent.

Then Sakura started running. And so did the others. Though Lilynette just stayed behind Sakura, trying her very best to hold in her laughter.

They ran, some of them screaming. Konohamaru, the target, desperately increased his speed by closing his eyes and putting his back into it.

There was a loud _thump_ and a _thud _as the Academy student crashed into another and onto the ground. Understandably, the person he crashed into didn't even move an inch, seeing as he was over twice Konohamaru's age and size.

Konohamaru looked up in time to see the purple-painted face donned with black speak. "That hurt." He continued to stare fearfully until his face twisted with pain as he was lifted off his feet and hanging about a foot in the air only by the hand on his scarf. "That hurt, brat," the mystery person repeated.

"Stop it, we're going to get in trouble later," Temari, standing behind him, reminded her younger brother.

Sakura gasped. "I'm so sorry! I was fooling around, so…!" Inwardly she was thinking, _who are these people?_

Naruto growled, his fists clenched and shaking. "Hey, let him go!" he yelled.

Kankuro smirked as his gaze zeroed in on Naruto's hitai-ate. _These guys are ninjas of Konoha._ "Oh? But I want to play around before some noisy people come," he said. He tightened his hold on the brat.

"Let…let go!" Konohamaru struggled to speak. He kicked his legs weakly.

"You're pretty energetic, kid."

Lilynette stood in the background, her expression carefully blank. She, however, stepped forward and reached a hand forward when she Naruto's anger gaining control. "Naruto," she warned.

Not hearing her, Naruto rushed forward. "Why you…!" Halfway there, he didn't expect the strange tug on his foot, causing him to trip and fall backwards onto the ground. "What-what was that?!" he questioned, lifting his head up as his eyes shown with confusion.

Only Lilynette and Sakura noticed the hand movement the foreign shinobi made before Naruto fell. Though, Lilynette was the only one who was able to understand. To anyone else, the chakra strings were mostly invisible. But her ability to sense and sometimes see spiritual energy allowed her to see what others could not. _I've never seen anything like it. _She inwardly mused in awe. _How could a single human be able to manipulate reiatsu so quickly and easily?!_

"Konoha's Genin are weak," Kankuro stated.

It was from that statement that Lilynette noticed the hitai-ate Naruto was currently wearing. "Oh. I did not particularly notice that…" she said in wonder. After hearing the _children _continue talking, she couldn't help but shake her head from the way the humans were saying the gaki's name- as if he was going to die, rather than get beaten up.

"Hey! If you don't let go of him right now, you'll get it from me you idiot!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the 'bullies'.

Lilynette face-palmed.

"You idiot! Don't provoke them!" Sakura seethed, choking him in her armed grasp.

Kankuro sneered. "You piss me off." He lifted his fist. "I hate short people anyway. And you're so impertinent for someone who's younger than me."

Lilynette snorted. _He better not me talking about me, or else he is _so_ wrong._

"It makes me want to break you." Kankuro's words had the desired effect. The two youngest kids were cowering and crying while Naruto and Sakura felt a small pang of fear struck their hearts.

Well, he _almost _had the desired effect. He seriously did not expect the chortling that was coming from the lime-haired girl.

Kankuro dropped his sneer and scowled. "You have a problem with that, short-stuff?"

It took Lilynette a whole minute to calm down. When she finally did, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. And still, they continued to stare. And stare. And stare. Until she finally couldn't take it and disturbed the silence. "What? Can't someone have a laugh now and then?" Some of them finally blinked, snapping out of their stupor.

"I asked you a question," Kankuro said, still scowling.

"Geez, stiff much? If you keep scowling, it's going to stick to your face. And to answer your question, I just find your little 'threat', if I could call it that, very tiny compared to what I have seen. I mean, really? 'Makes me want to break you'? I've not only seen someone actually break in half, but I also saw someone get _torn _in half. Not to mention being ripped to pieces. Come back when you have a more convincing threat."

Silence, once again, ensued the area. Each occupant digesting the words she had just spoken.

_Ah, shoot. I spilled too much… Ugh. Show-off._

"…you're joking."

Lilynette rolled her eyes. Honestly, does it look like she's joking? "Now, before we get into another conversation full of denial, hand over the little midget."

In response, Kankuro tightened his grip and directed his attention to the still struggling Konohamaru. "I have to disagree with that. First I need to take care of this little brat, and you and he shorty over there are next." He drew back his fist.

Lilynette sighed again. "Honestly, do I have to do all these stuff myself?" She was about to dart forward, but then a sharp crack in the air stopped her. She gave a grunt. "I guess not."

Konohamaru fell on the ground with a cry when he was dropped suddenly.

Kankuro gripped his arm tightly where it was hit by the rock that was now rolling innocently on the ground. He was about to wonder where it went when he heard the sound of rock hitting palm somewhere above him. Turning around and looking up, he found the source.

"What do you think you're doing in our village?" Sasuke questioned the foreign shinobi.

Lilynette yelped and covered her ears quickly as Sakura's fan-girl scream busted open her rather sensitive ears. She had to admit, the boy _is _kind of cute, but she doesn't get the reason why someone would want to scream out over a cold-behaving kid.

Konohamaru ran back to his group, unnoticed.

"Another kid that pisses me off," Kankuro muttered.

Sasuke, being the drama king he was, decided to settle for a "get lost" and crushing the rock he held for effect.

Lilynette winced as Sakura screamed, yet _again_, on how cool the boy is. _Honestly! Shut up!_ (AN: No offense, Sakura and/or Sakura fans) Though she silently laughed when Konohamaru pointed accusingly at Naruto, crying, and said he was not cool; to which Naruto immediately went to assure the little boy that he could beat Sasuke, only for Konohamaru to look away and call him a liar, still in tears. Naruto seethed at Sasuke silently.

Meanwhile, Kankuro was telling Sasuke to come down, to which he didn't move a muscle. "I hate kids like you who always think they're so clever," he stated.

Lilynette suddenly felt disturbed by the strange-feeling presence hidden on the other side of the tree Sasuke was on. The more she focused, the more uncomfortable she grew. And what…

…

She paled.

Her insufficient amount of reiatsu was starting to take its toll. It was too much. Lilynette's eyes widened in horror as she felt the malicious reiatsu emanate from the individual. Having the ability to sense reiatsu, she was greatly more affected than the others. The reiatsu wrapped around her. Choking her.

Lilynette barely felt her knees collapse under the sheer pressure suddenly on her shoulders. Nor did she understand the inaudible exclamations of concern erupting from around her.

She tried to speak, but failed miserably. Her lips trembled. Lilynette put her palms on the gravel, in a position that would have made someone think she was about to hack.

Lilynette mentally cursed the person who started patting her back in an attempt to help her gather some air. Pushing her down is not going to help the pressure grow smaller!

But as quickly as the sensations of her friends came, they left.

She felt alone. Stuck into a torture of oblivion. And all she saw in through her eyes was a black-marked sand-colored tanuki (raccoon dog) easily similar, if not bigger, compared to the size of a Menos Grande.

Those hauntingly, gold-colored eyes.

Her scream echoed around the mindscape, and was easily drowned out by the blood-crazed laughter booming from the _thing_.

She blacked out.

**Sometime after…**

The Third Hokage finished the announcement and preparation of the Chunin Exams, including the special Preliminary Exams for the rookies. He cleared his throat. "Now, before you start to wander, I have an announcement to make," he said. He waited until he got their full attention before continuing. "As of today, those who go by the name of Coyote Starrk, Tier Harribel, Ulquiorra Cifer, and Grimmjow JaegarJaquez, are to be recognized officially as Jonin of Konoha."

Kakashi looked up in mild surprise. It was not every day that someone was promoted to Jonin. Much less people they have never even encountered. Needless to say, he was very curious as to who these new Jonin were.

…He had heard of the famous quartet…but those were only rumors.

"I am fully aware of the secrecy these selected has faced. Due to classified reasons, they have been covertly serving this village from Genin, to Chunin, and now to Jonin for two years. And to be authentic, I had clarified them as Jonin for a few months now, but it was only recently that they allowed me to make the announcement." He let out a small chuckle. "I'm afraid they were quite reluctant of the attention it may bring as a result."

Asuma let out an "aa" sound. "So where are these lucky recruits?" he asked.

Hiruzen took out his pipe and blew out smoke. "On a mission. They should be back in time during the observation of the second task. Just before sunset. A strange habit they have…"

**~XoX~**

Naruto watched sadly as his childhood friend slept on the hospital bed.

Even he had to admit he was terrified when his best friend suddenly looked like she was being choked to death right in front of their eyes.

But what really, really, _really _frightened him was the blood-curdling scream that ripped out of her throat before she blacked out completely.

It was filled with so much fear. He disliked knowing that it came from his most strongest-willed friend in all of Konoha. He disliked seeing the terror in her wide, unseeing eyes. It almost broke his heart.

It had been the first time in a long while since he encountered the panic he felt today. He should've personally brought her to the hospital. But Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon insisted. They practically took off like a rocket, carrying Lilynette with them.

Their first reunion in months was broken.

Naruto scrutinized Lilynette's now-calm visage and sighed. _Her parents must be worried._

Then he froze. A realization dawning. He opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly like a fish. All this time…

All this time, and yet he never even asked if she had any relatives or a family.

He sweat-dropped at his foolishness.

Naruto looked back at the sleeping female. _Well, I guess if she doesn't want to talk about it, I shouldn't force her to,_ he thought. _After all…she'll probably murder me if I do that. _He paused, and shrugged. _Eh, maybe not. She's not _that _violent. _

His thoughts moved towards a long-ago memory. One of those days when Lilynette was in a grouchy mood.

He had seen her stalking down the street, a fierce scowl on her face. Having nothing else to do, he followed her.

She walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. He was starting to get tired, but finally she stopped when she was deep in the forest. Being the curious and innocent boy he was before, he hid behind a tree and peeked around the bark.

Just in time to see her punch a large hole in a tree with an angered yell. On and on, she continued, leaving fist-sized holes in each sapling, her voice echoing through the endless rows of trees.

It was only by sun-set did she finally stop her 'exercise'.

Naruto flipped out of the memory from a rather loud yell.

"VISITING TIME IS OVER!"

**I know, I know, I've been focusing so much on Lilynette. Though a bit weak, I still think she's awesome. I haven't really read that much stories including Lilynette. **

**Also, I wished I could write more than this. But my instincts tell me to stop being so cowardly and just post it already. …I listened of course. Not that I'm too happy about that.**

**But still… 8 pages! (Not including author's note). I could've done better…*pout* But it's at least a bit satisfying.**

**Next up, the Espadas' arrival!**

***Cough* Hopefully.**

**I think I need to improve my writing skills.**

**-ShiraChan-Desu**


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